Jondy the Abandoner 4: Streaming Freedom Video
by SK194
Summary: Big changes are in store for Jondy. As it turns out, they just aren't the changes that she was expecting.
1. The Engagement

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Dark Angel, or Animorphs.

Jondy the Abandoner 4: Streaming Freedom Video

Chapter one: The Engagement

February 14, 2020

Zack was mad at Eloise, Aldrea decided. That was the only explanation for it. He hadn't called or visited in two months. He didn't give her a Christmas gift, which he had done for the past two years, since she and her mother had started celebrating the holiday with Brian, her mother's boyfriend.

Zack didn't turn up when her mom had called him, and left a him a message. He had to be angry with her for some reason. Those two fought all the time, so he was just mad at her, right? He had to be mad at her, because the only other explanation for his absence was too horrible to think about.

The only other reason that he wouldn't have shown up, was because he'd been captured by the mysterious bad people. The bad people responsible for the barcode on her neck, and on her mother's neck, and on Zack's neck. The bad guys. Aldrea didn't know anything about them, but they were the only thing that ever scared Zack, the strongest person in the world, as far as she was concerned. There was no way that they could have gotten Zack.

"So where is he?" she asked her mother once again.

"Aldrea, get ready for school," demanded Eloise.

"I am ready. Mom, it's been two and a half months. I just want to know if you think anything is wrong. If you think something happened. You know, with the bad guys."

"Listen, nothing bad is going on, all right. Zack blows that danger crap way out of proportion, and you know that. Now, go over to Brian's and tell him to take you to school. He's late."

Aldrea scowled at her mother. She could be the complete anti-Zack when it came to the inherent danger that they lived in, and she took way too much for granted. Aldrea thought that her mom would be dead by now if it weren't for her and Zack keeping her on her toes. Eloise was way too laid back. Things could never be safe forever. Begrudgingly she hung her head, walked across the hall to Brian's apartment, and knocked.

A muffled, "Come on in," was heard from the other side. Aldrea entered. Brian's apartment was a lot cleaner than her and her mother's. In fact, Brian was the one who usually ended up cleaning their apartment. Aldrea's mom did not set cleanliness as one of her priorities.

"Hey Brian," said Aldrea. "You're late."

"I know," he said through toothpaste. "Sorry, but hey, you can't be late if you get there before the teacher right?"

"Okay, then I get to go in right before you!"

"It's a deal," Brian agreed. Now that she was in third grade, Brian was her teacher. Aldrea thought it was only a little bit weird, and besides, it was a tiny school, so there was only one teacher for each grade. She'd always known Brian would be her third grade teacher. The hardest part was having to call him Mr. Harrison instead of Brian.

"Hey Kiddo," Brian smiled as he exited the bathroom. "Okay, we're way late, lets roll!"

"Rock and roll!" Aldrea shouted after him, and followed him down the stairs.

---

"So, what forms of torture are you planning on putting Beth through tonight?" Brian asked, once they were in the Jeep and on the way too school.

"Oh I forgot! You guys are leaving tonight!"

"That's right."

"For Valentine's Day. Zack would make _so _much fun of Mom if he knew about all this you know," Aldrea giggled.

"Yeah. Too bad he didn't show up to baby sit you and make fun of your mom. That would've been a riot!"

"Yeah," Aldrea sighed wistfully.

"You miss him don't you Kiddo?"

"I hope he shows up for my birthday."

---

Entering her apartment after school, unaccompanied by Brian, Aldrea felt an air of excitement. Her mom was in the bathroom getting ready for her big night out with Brian, and Aldrea could tell that she was looking forward to it. Brian and Eloise hadn't been out without Aldrea since Halloween, when Zack had taken Aldrea trick or treating.

Then Zack left, and never came back. It was so weird.

"Hey Aldrea," Eloise called from the bathroom, "if I put my hair up like this, can you see my barcode?"

Eloise had half of her hair up, and tied into a messy bun, while the other half hung down her back. Aldrea shook her head, "nope, can't see it. You should curl the ends of the part hanging down though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'll just give it more dimension, or whatever it is shampoo commercials call it," explained Aldrea.

"Gotcha Kiddo. Okay, curling my hair," said Eloise with an eye roll. Aldrea returned the favor. Her mom could act like such a doofus sometimes.

Aldrea went out and spread her homework across the counter in the kitchen, prepared herself a snack of chocolate milk and generic brand Oreo's, and then set to work on her math. Brian always gave her work that challenged her mind, and so Aldrea was doing work slightly above the level of her classmates. Sometimes Aldrea appreciated this, but mostly she just wished she could do the same work as everyone else, which required very little thinking on her part.

Before she knew it, the clock read 5:55, and Brian was knocking at the door. "I'll get it!" shouted Aldrea, at the same time that her mom called, "Get the door!"

"Hey Kiddo," smiled Brian, as Aldrea let him in. "Happy Valentine's Day." He handed her a small, heart shaped box of chocolates, and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Don't tell your mom," he whispered, "she'll be jealous."

"What was that?" asked Eloise.

Brian looked up. "Hey, you look great."

Eloise was wearing a purple, button up, collared top, and a long black skirt that when down to her ankles, but was split at the knees on both sides. She smiled, "You don't look so bad yourself." Granted, he never exactly looked bad, Eloise said to herself.

Brian was wearing black slacks, and a dressy t-shirt that accentuated his biceps. He was well aware of how Eloise enjoyed his biceps.

A soft knocking was heard behind them. "Hi Beth!" Aldrea greeted. Beth was a short, blonde girl who desperately needed braces on her teeth, which was unfortunate in the post-Pulse economy. She had her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and she smiled warmly at Aldrea and twinkled her fingers in a shy wave.

"Hey Ms. Strat," she said, trying to beef up her confidence when talking to an adult.

"Hey Beth," Eloise returned. "Well, my beeper number is on the fridge, and we should be home… When do you think Brian?"

"Between eleven and midnight I think."

"Okay. Um, what time should Aldrea be in bed by?" Beth inquired.

"Well," Eloise searched for an answer. Aldrea didn't actually have an official bed time. "How's nine o'clock?"

"Ten!" Aldrea immediately bargained.

"Okay ten. Sound good?" Eloise asked Beth.

"Sure. Have fun!" she said as Eloise and Brian left. Aldrea stared at Beth. Beth lived downstairs and had offered to baby sit for Aldrea many times, but Zack was Aldrea's usual babysitter.

---

Brian took Eloise out to a movie, in the old theatre that had just reopened a few weeks ago, after months of repairs. They saw some new romantic comedy that was so bad they both were in tears of laughter throughout the entire show. "That was so horrible Brian! I loved it!"

"You're so easy to please," Brian teased her. She hit his arm playfully.

---

"So what do you want do Aldrea?" asked Beth.

"I dunno. What do _you _wanna do?"

"Well do you have any games you like to play?"

"No." Aldrea and Zack had never played games, when Jondy was out. They'd always practiced martial arts. Aldrea wished Zack were here and they were doing that.

"Um… Okay," stumbled Beth. "Well, what do you usually do in the evening?"

"My homework. And then I colour while I watch TV, or I play with toys."

"Okay!" said Beth, relieved that Aldrea had more of a response this time. "Well, I'll make supper, while you do some homework then, and after we eat, we can play!"

Beth had expected Aldrea to be excited at her proposal, but Aldrea's face remained expressionless. "What's for supper?"

"Pizza," said Beth. "Your mom told me there was some in the freezer."

At this Aldrea perked up. "Pizza! We never had pizza!"

"Really?"

"My mom doesn't know how to cook frozen pizza without starting the building on fire." Beth noticed some telltale burn marks above the stove, and decided not to ask.

---

After the movie, Brian and Eloise relocated to a burger and malt shop that Eloise and Aldrea both adored. "I thought you'd bring me somewhere torturously fancy for Valentine's Day," said Eloise.

"What's the point? You'd hate it!"

"I know, but I know how you like to be traditional sometimes," Eloise smirked.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Suck your malt Eloise." She giggled.

---

"What are you drawing?" Beth asked Aldrea.

"What are _you_ drawing?"

"A camel," said Beth simply.

"I'm drawing a picture of my mom throwing stuff," said Aldrea. Her mom always threw things at Zack.

---

By nine o'clock, their burgers and malts were gone, and the couple went to a park with a nice walking path. Eloise could sense that Brian was getting nervous.

Suddenly Brian stopped walking in front of a bench. "You wussing out on me Brian? Need a break?"

"Not exactly," said Brian.

---

"It's getting late," said Beth. "Why don't you get your pajamas on, and then watch a movie until ten."

"You know, when my mom said that I had to be in bed by ten, she didn't mean it. I can stay up all night if I want."

Beth laughed. "Not a chance. I do want your mom to pay me you know."

---

"Eloise, for almost three years, you and Aldrea have become my life. I've seen you everyday, and I want to see you always, forever. Eloise, will you marry me?" asked Brian. He looked like he was about to throw up with nervousness.

Eloise gulped. She wasn't the married type was she?

Brian looked at her, eager for her response, but looking terrified of what that response might be.

---

"I'm just gonna play in my room until ten then, okay?" said Aldrea.

"Sure. I'll play with you."

Aldrea thought Beth was weird. Nobody except her friend Jeremy ever played with her toys with her.

But then, Eloise thought, Manticore hadn't been onto her in years. She'd fallen completely off their radar. And she loved Brian. And marrying him would piss off Zack on a grandiose scale. And if she married Brian, she and Aldrea would have a real family, with a mom and a dad, and everyone loving each other, and trusting each other. Always, forever.

"I will," said Eloise finally, after way too much deliberation. "I'll marry you."

Brian pulled her close, and kissed her briefly on the lips. After their lips separated, he still held her to him and whispered, "you never wear jewelry, so I didn't get you a ring. Look under the bench."

Eloise grinned, and without moving, looked under the bench, using her night vision. "Go on, go see," Brian urged.

"Oh, yeah," said Eloise, and then acting like a normal person looked under the bench. She was like a kid looking under the tree at Christmas. There was a box underneath, tied with a dark blue ribbon. Eloise sat on the bench and opened the box.

---

"Okay, and these are the Power Rangers," explained Aldrea, showing Beth her toys. "See, and the Power Rangers aren't like the Power Rangers are on TV when I play, because I like to have them be animal tamers. See, the blue Ranger has tamed this wolf toy. They are my favourite pair. They live in this room." Aldrea put the wolf and the action figure in the dollhouse made out of old shoeboxes taped together that she and Brian had constructed one weekend.

"What a neat game," Beth enthused.

---

The box contained three items. Two boots, and a book. Eloise's favourite book, which she had mentioned to Brian countless times, and gone on about how she couldn't find it anywhere. Aldrea's namesake, _The Hork Bajir Chronicals_. "You got me combat boots and my favourite book? I love you!"

Brian smiled widely, tears in his eyes, and sat down next to his now fiance. "I love you too. Read the inscription."

"_Dear Eloise and Aldrea, _

Finding you, and letting you grow into my family, has been an adventure unlike any other. You girls are out of this world! Turns out that my older sister had this book saved from her vast childhood book collection. She said you could have it. Have fun reading it to Aldrea.

Aldrea, rock and roll kid. Rock and roll!

Love forever,

Brian"

Eloise couldn't stop smiling no matter how hard she tried. Neither could Brian.

"Let's go get some ice cream," Brian suggested.

"This night just keeps getting better and better," said Eloise.

"Happy Valentine's Day Eloise."

---

"Okay, time for bed," Beth instructed.

Aldrea sighed, and climbed into her bed, tucking herself in begrudgingly. "Good night Beth."

"Good night Aldrea," said Beth, clicking off the light, and going to watch TV until Eloise and Brian got home. They did at about ten after eleven. The two were giddy and beaming as they burst into the apartment, completely unworried about waking Aldrea. They both knew that Aldrea wasn't asleep.

"Hey Beth," they both said.

"Hey. You look like you had a good night."

"We did," said Eloise. "Great."

"Hey Mom! Hey Brian!" yelled Aldrea, running from her bedroom.

Beth's eyes grew wide. "She was in bed at ten, I swear!"

Eloise and Brian laughed. "We believe you," said Brian. "This one _never _stays in bed."

"Okay," said Beth. Brian handed her some money. "Thanks. Have a good night guys. See ya later Aldrea!" She flashed them one last smile, and left.

Aldrea grinned. "How was Valentine's Day Mom?"

"Great Kiddo. Guess what."

"What?!"

"Brian and I are engaged. We're getting married!"

Aldrea leapt up into her mom's arms and hugged her. "Mom," she giggled in a whisper. "Zack's gonna be _so _mad!"

**TBC…**

A/N: Hopefully the spacing in this chapter wasn't too confusing. I decided that the quick scene changes would be the best way to keep the story from getting too boring, but disagreed with my formatting and I had to go back and try to make sense of it all being blocked together. Hopefully I got everything fixed up correctly, but I worry about these things. I always miss something, so hopefully I didn't leave anyone confused.

As always, review-age is very much appreciated.


	2. That Was a Commercial

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Jondy the Abandoner 4: Streaming Freedom Video

Chapter two: That Was a Commercial

February 25, 2020

Jondy smiled to herself as she sat hugging her knees at the top of the Golden Gate bridge. She was getting married! It sounded insane, and exciting, and amazing. It was also the exact opposite of what life could've been if she hadn't escaped from Manticore.

She remembered being a little girl at Manticore. Normal little girls had hopes and dreams of getting married and having children. Jondy had wanted to be a sniper, and to be as good as Max at escape and evade. Aldrea had dreams of being a teacher like Brian, while Jondy had hoped to become an assassin. But Jondy didn't really want all of that. She'd found that out after a couple of days in the real world.

And now she was about to have everything a normal little girl could hope for. Brian still didn't know about Manticore though. Jondy struggled with the idea of telling him. It would put him in danger. But marriage was supposed to be about trust, right?

The memories from Manticore still haunted her. Aldrea's birthday was approaching, and with it the anniversary of the escape. And the anniversary of Maxie's death.

__

Jondy heard the cold crack of ice, and turned to see Max slip under, arms raised in surprise. "Max!" Jondy screamed, but Max didn't surface. Jondy turned around and ran. Ran and ran and ran…

The thought made Jondy feel queasy inside. She'd tried to make excuses for it, when she felt she couldn't take the guilt any longer, but everything she came up with was lame. There could never be any excuse for letting Maxie die. Her closest sister, her best friend.

She'd learned her lesson. She'd never abandon anyone again. Not ever again.

Jondy glanced at her watch and sighed. She had to be at work in 15 minutes. She worked about a block away from her apartment, at a little bar called The Golden Gate. Her shift tonight was until two AM. Jondy had no problem staying up that late, but poor Beth might, Jondy thought with a smile, as she began her climb down. Beth was babysitting Aldrea again, as Brian was visiting his mother this week to talk about arrangements for the wedding. He didn't have to work because it was mid-winter break at school.

"You're late," said another bartender named Dameon, as Eloise walked in at five minutes after nine. "We're swamped you know." The bar was almost empty. It was slow, even for a Tuesday night.

"Yeah, it's really crazy in here," Eloise smirked, and went to the backroom to check in. She signed her name and wrote the time in on a tattered piece of paper tacked to the wall. Before heading out to work, she pulled out some lip gloss, and smiled inwardly and the delicious cherry flavor as she applied it. Shoving the tube back into the pocket of her blue jeans, Eloise sighed tiredly, anticipating an uneventful night at work.

12:40 AM

Beth yawned, and stretched out on the couch. Aldrea was sitting on the floor watching _Full House _reruns, and playing with her toy animals. "Don't you think you should be getting to bed soon?" asked Beth, and yawned again.

"I'm not sleepy. I already told you, I slept in 'til ten o'clock this morning!"

"Well, I could read you a story or something. Will that make you sleepy?"

"I could OD on my seizure medicine. That'd make me sleepy," said Aldrea sarcastically.

Beth grumbled something under her breath, and yawned again. She rubbed her eyes, trying to urge them to stay open.

"Besides," said Aldrea, "Don't you wanna know what happens on the show?"

"They go to the mall to protest their toys, and in the end Rigby the Rhino comes to their house and gives them ugly orange stuffed animals. I've seen this a million times," said Beth lazily.

"I know. Don't you wanna see it again?" Aldrea grinned, knowing that she was being annoying.

Beth rolled her eyes. The television went to a commercial break advertising air freshener.

Boredly, Aldrea began to throw her toy animals across the room. "What are you doing?" yelled Beth.

"Teaching plastic to fly."

"You're making a mess!"

"I've made bigger," said Aldrea. A commercial for a toy that she wanted came on the TV. Aldrea turned and stared at it excitedly. She would definitely be getting one of those for her birthday.

Aldrea began to hum along to the theme music, but suddenly there was no more theme music to hum to.

"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin."

"What the heck is this?" wondered Beth.

Aldrea shrugged, and went back to throwing her toys.

"This cable hack is being beamed to you right across America. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped. This is a message for those known as X5," Aldrea's ears perked up at those words, and began to listen intently again. "You have been compromised. You are in danger. You know what to do. I repeat, your locations have been compromised. You know what to do. This message will repeat every hour, on the hour, until each of you has checked in."

The message ended, and the television went back to Joey Gladstone yelling about the injustices of toy companies or whatever. Aldrea looked over at Beth, who was resting her eyes. The voice from the message kept repeating itself in Aldrea's mind, "You have been compromised. You are in danger." This was the danger Zack always talked about. The bad guys were coming, and Zack sent out a warning! That had to be what this was!

Aldrea ran over to the phone. She had to call her mom. They had to get out of San Francisco! "Aldrea, leave the phone alone," Beth mumbled from the couch.

"I'm just going to call my mom's beeper," Aldrea explained.

"You're mom'll be home in a little over an hour."

"But it's important! I have to talk to her NOW!"

"Fine! Page her, but if she's mad, I had nothing to do with this."

Aldrea quickly dialed her mom's number, and listened to the message, wishing it would go faster. "Hey this is Eloise. Actually, it's my beeper. So dial in your number, unless you're _a super paranoid brother, _and I'll call you back when I feel like it."

Finally it finished, and Aldrea dialed in her home phone number.

1:05 AM

Lydecker was looking at pictures of X5s, when agent Sandoval approached him. "We got a lead on the girl in Portland," Sandoval informed him.

"Good," said Lydecker. "Have him send us a chopper ASAP. I'm going to take care of this one myself."

Sandoval nodded and began to walk away.

"Oh," Lydecker added, "And send a team to San Francisco to check out the last known location of X5-210. According to this new intel, she may not have moved on as we had assumed."

"Yes sir," said agent Sandoval.

Eloise felt her hip buzzing as she handed a beer to an angsty drunk. Hoping it was Brian, s she could complain to him about work, she looked at the number. Home.

Eloise sighed. "I'm going back to use the phone," she alerted Dameon. He nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

Finally the phone range on Aldrea's end. "Hello?" Aldrea said into the phone.

"There had better be blood," came Jondy's voice from the other end.

"Mom! The bad guys are coming!"

"Give me the phone Aldrea," Eloise heard Beth yelling in the background. Aldrea tightened her grip on the object and twirled around so that the phone was on the opposite side from Beth.

"What!" asked Jondy.

"I saw it on TV, Mom. The bad guys are coming!"

"Aldrea!" a very aggravated Jondy shouted. "Go. To. Bed!"

"But Moooooomm!"

"BED!"

"That was a commercial Aldrea," Beth explained.

"Oh yeah, then what was it advertising?" came Aldrea's retort. "It'll be on again at two Mom! Turn on the TV before you leave work, and you'll see!"

"I'm hanging up the phone now Aldrea, and you'd better be asleep when I get home!" Eloise yelled so loudly that even Beth heard.

Aldrea slammed the phone back down on the receiver so hard that the casing cracked a little.

"Well, you heard her," said Beth with a smug grin. "To bed with you."

Aldrea glared at Beth, and walked passed her on the way to her room without saying anything.

"Good night," said Beth, just as Aldrea was about to close the door.

"Well at least one way or another, there's no way you'll ever be able to have control over my bedtime ever again," Aldrea shouted, and slammed the door loudly. A baby woke up down the hall, and began to cry. Aldrea flopped down on her bed and listened to its wails. Six year olds just should have to deal with the threat of mortal danger while their mothers were at work, she decided. There was no way she was going to get to sleep tonight.

TBC…


	3. Always Abandoner

****

Jondy the Abandoner 4: Streaming Freedom Video

Chapter three: Always Abandoner

Aldrea lay on her bed, covers off, staring at the ceiling. After what seemed like at least an hour, she looked at the clock radio on the box next to her bed. 1:27. She hadn't even been sitting in her bedroom for twenty minutes yet. She groaned and rolled over, to flop down catlike into a crouch on the floor.

She listened as intently as she could to the sounds of the apartment. The infant down the hall had stopped screaming, and faintly Aldrea could detect the sounds of soft snoring coming from the living room. Beth was asleep.

Aldrea opened her door slowly, so as not to risk the hinges creaking. She held her breath and listened once again for Beth's snoring. Yes, Beth was still asleep. Aldrea let the air out of her lungs, and crept down the hall, and into her mother's room. Jondy kept Zack's contact number in her closet somewhere. Aldrea had heard the closet door open when Jondy had gone in there to hide it.

As quietly as she could, Aldrea began to rummage through her mother's piles of clothes, books, movies, and shoes. And candy wrappers. So this is where all of Aldrea's candy was going! Aldrea blew air out of her nose angrily, and continued in her search.

After several minutes, Aldrea hadn't found anything just laying about, which was her mom's classic style of hiding something, lazy and in plain sight. She also hadn't found any crinkled up pieces of paper in the toes of any of her mom's shoes. So she began to open up the DVD and CD cases, and leaf through the inserts. Finally, a yellow sticky note was stuck inside the DVD case of Jurassic Park. It was the only thing in the box actually. Who knew what had happened to the DVD.

The note read, "New contact number: 1-907-228-555-4460. Don't give to Aldrea, or she'll keep calling me!" Aldrea smirked at the note. "Too bad Zack, I found it," she said to herself, and sneakily walked out of the room.

Aldrea moved in "stealth mode," mimicking spy people on TV, as crept passed the lightly sleeping Beth on the couch. Then, as quietly as possible, she lifted the phone off it's pedestal. A click echoed throughout the quiet apartment. Aldrea froze. Beth didn't move either, her breathing remaining steady. Aldrea let her muscles relax, and she snuck back to her room, thanking whatever gods existed that they had a cordless phone. Glancing at the door to make sure that Beth wasn't coming, Aldrea dialed the contact number.

Zack looked at the clock display of the annoying excuse for a vehicle from where he sat in the back seat. "Can't this thing go any faster?" he asked, when the cell phone on the dashboard began ringing.

"Give me the phone," Zack demanded.

"I can get it," said the woman in the passenger seat as she pressed send. "Hello?"

"Zack?" came a small voice from the other end.

"Who's this?"

"This is… Who's this? I need to talk to Zack."

"This is Max," said the woman.

"Max give me the phone, now!" Zack shouted.

"Okay, hi Max," Aldrea politely greeted. "Can I talk to Zack now?" With a sigh, Max handed the phone to the nearly furious man in the back seat.

"Jondy?" Zack inquired into the phone.

"No this is Aldrea."

"Aldrea! Where's your- Where's Jondy?"

"She's at work still. She's off at two and I called her and she won't come home."

"How'd you get this number anyway," Zack wondered.

"It was inside of Jurassic Park," replied Aldrea. "What should I do? What are the bad guys going to do to us?"

"Settle down," said Zack. At this suddenly comforting tone, Max turned around and gave him a smirk. He glared at her. "The bad guys are coming, but they probably won't get there by two, because they live all the way in Wyoming. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Can I talk to Brian please."

"Brian's not here, Beth is and she fell asleep otherwise I wouldn't have even been able to call you! Beth has to be my babysitter because you're never here anymore and Brian went away this week to plan the wedding."

"THE WHAT!"

"Zack, just find out where she's headed and hang up," said Max. "We're nearly there and we need to gave at least some idea of a plan."

"Okay," said Zack. "Tell Jondy everything when she gets home, and then you guys will have to take off for somewhere. Have her call me on the road sometime after four AM. Got it?"

"Got it Zack. Will you come see me again soon?"

"Sure thing. Gotta go though, bye."

"Bye," said Aldrea, and flopped back down on her bed. Tapping her fingers noiselessly on her pillow, she waited for two AM to arrive.

Eloise entered her apartment soundlessly and peered around in the darkness. Beth was snoring on the couch, and Aldrea was nowhere in sight. Eloise could sense that she was in her bedroom. With a sigh she dropped her jacket on the nearest chair, and watched it slip to the floor. Eloise didn't bother to pick it up.

Suddenly Beth awoke. "Oh. How long have you been home?"

"About twelve seconds."

"Oh. Okay, well Aldrea went off to bed, but I don't know if she actually went to sleep or not," said Beth.

"Okay," Eloise replied, staring into space behind Beth. "Here," she handed Beth some money, "have a good night."

"Good morning," Beth corrected and left. Eloise rolled her eyes at her and yawned. She felt hardly able to form a coherent thought. Suddenly something was flying at her.

"Mommommommommommommom!" Aldrea shouted as she leapt into her mother's arms. "We have to go. I called Zack and he said that we have to leave and that you should call him after four o'clock."

"Where did you get his phone number?"

"It doesn't matter. But Mom, he said that we have to go. And didn't you watch the message?"

"What on Earth are you talking about Aldrea?"

Aldrea let go of Eloise's neck and let herself drop to the floor. She went over and turned on the TV. "I snuck past Beth and recorded it while she was sleeping." She pressed play.

After the message finished, Aldrea looked proudly at her mother, feeling smart and vindicated. Aldrea knew she was right and now her mom _had _to listen to her!

Eloise didn't say anything. "So?" Aldrea prompted. The silence continued for a few more minutes.

"Pack your things," Jondy demanded. "Get everything that you ever want to see again." Aldrea nodded and rushed off toward her bedroom. Jondy sighed, and resigned herself to the painful realization that she would never be seeing anything to do with this place ever again.

Tears pinpricked her eyes as she haphazardly threw clothes into a large blue duffle bag. In her mind she was reciting the note that she would leave to Brian, but all the time she knew that leaving a note was a terrible idea that would only lead to she and Aldrea's death. She would never be able to talk to Brian again. Never be able to say goodbye. Never be able to explain…

A deep, painful sob escaped her, as she grabbed the photo album and neatly packed it into her backpack. Most of the pictures in it had been taken by Brian, and Aldrea was his favourite subject. All the pictures in the house had to be taken, lest Lydecker learn what Jondy looked like, and of the existence of Aldrea. Jondy left her room and rooted through the place, finding all incriminating evidence and packing it away. Then she went across the hall and picked the lock to Brian's place. There were pictures of her over there too. The last thing Brian would remember about her was how she looted his place before she abandon him forever.

****

TBC…


	4. Through the Fence

Jondy the Abandoner 4: Streaming Freedom Video

Chapter four: Through the Fence

1:55 p.m.

"Crap, crap, crap," Sam said to herself under her breath, as she rooted through her "husband's" briefcase. She couldn't find the files that she was looking for, meaning he must've left them at work, meaning she'd have to sneak into the building tomorrow. Sighing, she silently fumed at the task ahead of her, when her enhanced hearing picked up the smothered buzzing of her Manticore issue pager coming from beneath a pile of clothes.

"Crap!" Sam whispered again, and looked at the sleeping form in the bed across the room. He did not stir, and Sam breathed in relief. _Why was her pager going off?_ she wondered. That was the pager Manticore used to contact her, but she was deep cover, and the pager was only to be reserved for the most extreme of emergencies. Emergencies like if she screwed up and the information she had relayed never got there. Sam could be in big trouble and a knot formed in her stomach.

_Okay, okay… I just have to call them back. If I'm prompt, I shouldn't be in too big of trouble, _she thought. _I hope…_

"X5-453," the phone barked once she was connected. "One of the escapees, X5-210, has been located near you. You are to locate and apprehend immediately."

"But…" Sam began to protest. "Yes sir." The other end rattled off coordinates that were about a mile from where Sam was, and then hung up. _Sheesh, how was that for spur of the moment, _thought Sam.

"Honey," she shook her husband awake. "I'm going out for a run, be back soon, 'kay?"

"Okay," the still mostly asleep man mumbled, and his pretender of a wife snuck out of the house.

* * *

"Okay, got everything you want and/or need?" asked Jondy. 

Aldrea nodded in response. "Okay, I've got my stuff, plus pictures, all of your old homework stuff with your name on it… Is there anything else that could tip off our names?"

Aldrea pondered for a moment. "The answering machine tape!" she exclaimed, delighted with her own cleverness and helpfulness in averting disaster.

"Right," Jondy said, and plucked the tape from it's home near the window. Moonbeams panned across her haggard face. Sunlight was still a few hours away yet, but they had to get going. They also had no vehicle to speak of.

* * *

Sam arrived at the coordinates at 2:09 according to her watch. She was in a parking lot for an apartment complex. So, X5-210's last known location was this apartment building, meaning she lived here, was discovered her, and then was _still here?_ Quite frankly Sam didn't think it made any sense, but began picking the lock into the building.

Once inside she was struck by the impossible nature of her assignment. There were at least 15 apartments on the ground floor, then the same amount on all other floors. The only way to be sure to catch the X5 would be to wait by the door, except there were three doors into the building. Thus the only way to find her without back up would be to search for her apartment. The odds of finding her before she got away were slim, and if this mission were failed, Sam would be disciplined severely. Basically, her situation sucked. _Might as well start looking for the rogue X5 from the ground floor up, _she sighed, and began picking the lock to apartment 102.

* * *

Aldrea and Jondy, a backpack and a duffle bag of stuff each exited through the back door as silently as they could. Butterflies fluttered and fought with bees in Aldrea's stomach. They were out in the open, on the run, and as far as Aldrea was concerned, Zack's bad guys could be anyone. She didn't know anything more about them other than that they were very bad and would find her because she had a barcode. Aldrea had no idea how they were going to get away.

They were about a block away, when a helicopter droned overhead, and went to hover over the apartment building.

* * *

Sam was halfway through checking the second floor when backup arrived. "What's the status?" the unit leader asked.

"Ground floor has been cleared, no evidence of the rogue X5-210, as has half of the second floor. Third and fourth floors are still uncleared and need to be checked."

"How do you know what you're looking for."

"Well I assume that she would look vaguely like X5-211 before she was excuted. I learned from 798 that they were twinned."

"Affirmative," said the unit leader before sending three of his men to block the exits. The rest continued to check the building.

* * *

"Mom, they're here!" whispered Aldrea.

"I know, just keep moving. Just keep moving. They apparently think we're still at the apartment. Idiots."

The pair of them were obnoxiously obvious as they made their way down the block. Jondy, black hair aside, looked like Jondy, and Aldrea looked like she could easily be a young Jondy or Max, minus the buzz cut.

"Okay Aldrea," Jondy began, "next comes the tricky part, luckily I have you with me." Aldrea stared at her confused. Jondy continued with the plan: "Now you have to promise me Aldrea, if you ever meet up with anyone in law enforcement, that you'll never tell him or her about what we're gonna do. Do you promise?"

"Okay, but I don't even know what we're goin' to do!"

"We're gonna steal a car, okay Kiddo?" Aldrea stared at her wide eyed. "It's the only way that we'll get out of here fast enough. Now, we'll find a car. You get to get in the backseat with all our stuff and start kicking the hell out of the seat in front of you. Act like it's your car and you've been in it a million times and that it _always _has trouble starting. I'm going to hotwire it, which shouldn't take too long, but it has to look like I'm just fixing the car. Sound like a plan?"

"Okay," Aldrea said quietly. She was all for them getting away safely, but she didn't really like the idea of breaking the law. She knew her mom broke the law sometimes, like to get her medicine, but stealing a car was a big thing. She felt that with something that big, someone was sure to notice. Jondy on the other hand, wasn't concerned at all. Aldrea had no idea how many cars that Jondy had stolen in her lifetime.

Twenty minutes later Aldrea and Jondy were several blocks from home, and Jondy was eyeing a bright red car, that looked to be in fairly good condition. "Okay," she whispered from the corner of her mouth. "Run ahead of me and try to open the back door."

"Is it open?"

"I dunno, just try it!"

Aldrea obeyed and ran over to the vehicle. Fortunately, the back door was unlocked. Aldrea leapt inside and checked to see that the front was opened, and finding it wasn't, she unlocked it. Another helicopter flew by overhead. "Get in, get in Mom!" Aldrea urged under her breath. Jondy did and waited for the helicopter to pass.

She breathed in relief. That was two helicopters now… One to check the apartment, and one to check the surrounding area. They had to get out of here… NOW! Frantically, Jondy looked for keys left in the car, hoping to be lucky. A sick feeling was forming in her stomach as she was finding nothing. In the current state, it would be risky to leave the car; on the other hand, if she was going to hotwire the car, she needed to do it right away.

"Okay, I'll be back in a second kiddo," Jondy told Aldrea.

"But hurry!" Aldrea looked stricken. Zack was right about the bad guys. They were scary.

Finally the pair were on their way out of San Francisco. Just to get through the sector checkpoint out of the city, before the car they were in was reported stolen, and they were gold. Jondy approached the checkpoint and picked up speed.

"Hey! Hey slow down!" The sector cops waved at her. No cars were waiting to get through at this time of night. Excellent, Jondy picked up even more speed.

"Mom we're gonna crash!" Aldrea yelled.

"You got that right," Jondy shouted as they smashed through the barrier. "Waaaaaaaaahhooooooooooo!" She and Aldrea laughed as they sped away into the night.

* * *

North, north, north and even more north. Jondy had no idea where the other transgenics had been located, so she didn't know which places were safe.

"Where're we going Mom?" Aldrea inquired.

"Don't know yet," Jondy said stoicly. It was nearly noon now. Brian would be returning home soon to find them not there. He wouldn't know for several more hours yet that they were never coming back. Jondy sighed, again wishing that she could've left a note, or that she could contact him somehow.

At least she hadn't left him in a freezing pond…

The wet cold of the snow, bit numbly at Jondy's feet as she ran away from the jagged hole in the center of the ice. Cold air hit her lungs in pangs. Cold air… Not cold water.

Then again, she had left Brian to never feel her body heat ever again. She might as well have left him out in the cold. A vibration at Jondy's hip brought her out of her thoughts.

It was Zack.

A few miles up the road they came to a gas station where Jondy stopped to use the pay phone.

"Hey Zack."

"Where the hell are you!"

"Chill Zack. We're just coming into Portland."

"Shit Jondy, I thought you guys were captured. Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't know I was supposed to Zack. And I was a little preoccupied you know, with that whole, running for my life thing."

"Don't talk like that in Portland. That's where Tinga was. You're in dangerous territory, so you'll have to keep moving."

"Okay, I guess I keep heading north then," said Jondy.

"Oh you don't have to head _north_," Zack stated authoritatively. The moment the words came out of his mouth in that tone, he cursed himself, knowing it was a mistake.

Jondy grinned. "Why shouldn't I head north Zack?"

"Never mind Jondy," Zack gritted his teeth.

"No really, why shouldn't I head north? If you don't give me a good reason, I'm going to go north…"

"To Canada?" Zack said brightly.

"No way! Not since you suggested it."

"You know, this whole sibling rivalry thing is _really _grating on my last nerve. Do you think you could just do what I'm asking you to do just once?"

"I hardly think that you can call me your sister anymore Zack. We're not genetically related, and big brothers don't ordinarily sleep with their sisters."

"Jondy! I really don't think you should say the word 'genetic' while you're in Portland. Get Aldrea a sandwich or something, and then you two get the fuck out of there."

Jondy giggled.

"What?"

"Now I've got you thinking about sex."

Zack ground his teeth and growled over the phone. "Just call me when you know of your final destination, okay?"

"Seattle."

"What!"

"I've just now, arbitrarily decided that Seattle is my final destination. So I won't have to be calling you again dear _brother_," Jondy smirked at her own wit.

Zack fumed. Why, of all the places she could pick, did she have to pick Seattle? Oh she was infuriating. "Okay, fine. You can go to Seattle. Be my guest. That'd be my number one choice for a city you and Aldrea should inhabit."

"Great! Good to hear," Jondy said, knowing full well that Zack did not want her going to Seattle, for whatever reason. "Aldrea misses you Zack, so next time you're in Seattle, stop by and visit! Bye!" Jondy hung up the phone before Zack could say anything further, and chuckled to herself.

TBC…


	5. Bedtime Stories

****

Jondy the Abandoner four: Streaming Freedom Video

Chapter Five: Bedtime Stories

Heeding Zack's warning, Jondy got out of Portland and drove north for about an hour or so before stopping again. Aldrea was spread out on the backseat fast asleep, and Jondy didn't see why they shouldn't just sleep in the car, so she declined her seat and closed her eyes.

"Mom?"

Jondy started, "Oh Kiddo, I thought you were asleep."

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, I suppose we'll find someplace new to live. I'll find a new job, you'll go to a new school. It won't be so bad."

"But, will we ever see Brian again?" Aldrea's eyes were glistening.

"No Aldrea. We'll never see him again. And we can't have anything to do with our old place ever again." Jondy felt the sobs queuing up painfully in her throat. Aldrea's lip trembled.

__

Jondy pictured Brian coming home to a ransacked apartment with a shocked expression on his face. All signs that she or Aldrea had ever been in his life gone. She could see him burst into tears of confusion and agony.

"I'm scared Mommy. Why do we have to leave? Why do there have to be bad guys? Why can't Brian come with us?"

"I know it's hard Kiddo. That's why I tried so hard for us to stay there. That's why I always get so irritated by Zack-"

"You don't like Zack?"

"Aldrea, I love Zack. But if things were his way we would've moved a long time ago. If things were his way, we would've never gotten to know Brian. If things were Zack's way, we could never have a life. Trust me Aldrea, Zack's right about a lot of things, but he takes things too far. He would never understand that I loved Brian."

"Brian was going to be my daddy, because I never had a daddy," Aldrea said softly. "I loved Brian too. He was kind."

Jondy nodded, tears were streaming down her face. She always tried to be strong in front of Aldrea. Oh for fuck sake, why couldn't she control her goddamn tears? And now Aldrea's tears were falling too. Lovely, what a couple of saps, sitting in a stolen car, crying over some guy.

That thought elicited a sob that felt like it came up from Jondy's bowels. "Mommy," Aldrea whimpered and climbed into the front seat so she could sit in her Jondy's lap. Adjusting herself to sit comfortably, she brushed away some of her mother's tears. "Tell me about your siblings. My aunts and uncles."

"Why do you want to hear about them?" Jondy whispered through her crying.

"I just want to know about them. I know you had a brother and a sister, but Zack acts like there are more sometimes."

"Yes, there are others. There's Zack of course, who's always been a jerk," a bittersweet smile lit Jondy's face, and Aldrea's tears stopped falling. "And then there's Max, who you've got your middle name after."

"Yeah. I know about that. What is she like?"

__

What is_ she like? Aldrea didn't know Max was dead. Didn't know how Jondy was responsible… CRACK… And Max was gone… That angelic, but yet so stoic face never to be seen again. Never to laugh in front of Jondy's eyes. Never to be Jondy's best friend in a time when any child would need a best friend to hold onto._

"Well honey," Jondy began, "Max was the best friend I ever had. She was caring and sweet and strong and she was my only little sister, because I was the second youngest. She and I would stay up all night telling stories about pretty much everything."

__

"Okay, if you could kiss anyone, who would it be?" inquired Max during one of their late night conversations. Moonbeams crossed Jondy's face as she pondered. "I don't know. I think either Zack or Krit."

"You'd kiss Zack?"_ said Max, almost too loudly. "Gross!"_

"And she had my eyes right?" asked Aldrea. Oh god how her eyes resembled Maxie's.

"Yes, gorgeous eyes, just like yours. She had dark brown hair, much darker than yours, and beautiful olive skin. She was… pretty much the perfect person in my eyes, inside and out. If you grow up to be as amazing as Max was, then that would make me just about the best mom in the universe."

"Mom, of course you're the best in the universe!"

"Oh don't kid. You're just trying to make me feel better. Hmm, I just wish that I had a picture of Max to show you. I wish that I had a picture of us together… Aldrea, what all did Zack tell you about your barcode?

"He told me that you and me and him are special, and that's why we have got the barcodes. The barcodes are what means that the bad guys own us, but they can't own me as well, because they didn't get to program mine the way they would want. But the bad guys still want me and all of us because we're special."

"That's all?"

"Yeah," said Aldrea, snuggling in closer. Both of them had stopped crying, and their tears had been drying sticky on their faces, when Aldrea felt one of her mother's tear drops land on her head. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if he had told you anything about any of the others," Jondy lied. She had really been wondering how much Aldrea knew about Manticore. If she knew about genetic experiments or army drills in the yard, any of that. But apparently Zack had respected her wishes and only told Aldrea the bare minimum.

"Anyway Aldrea," Jondy continued, "the thing about Maxie is that she drown."

__

Running and running, cold nipping at her heals. Jondy's toes began to bleed on the icy snow that covered the pond. Helicopters. Spotlights. Had to keep running, running past the pain. CRACK! The sound that could never leave her mind. The sound that would haunt her forever, she could've turned back!

Aldrea turned around, big, brown Maxie eyes looking straight into Jondy's. "She's dead?"

"Yes, she's dead," Jondy's tears flowed freely down her cheeks and off her chin to splot on Aldrea's silky hair. "We were nine, and we were… Playing on the ice over a pond. Max was younger than me, but she was a little bigger, so when she stepped on the thinnest part of the ice, it broke. I yelled for her to come up, but I never saw her again."

"That's very sad Mommy," Aldrea whispered. Her mother was holding back sobs, she could tell, and the tears were completely unstoppable.

"Yeah. It is," Jondy said suddenly, stoic look back on her face. She brushed the dampness from her face. "But anyway, you wanted to know about the others too, yes?" Jondy suggested. She wanted to move onto a less painful subject than Max's death.

"Yes, who are they?"

"Well, there were quite a few of them. There was Tinga, she was one of my favorites. Tinga was my biggest sister, and she liked to take care of us litter ones. She wanted to protect all of us."

__

"Max, don't leave! They'll catch you and take you away too!" Tinga insisted. But Max wanted to see what they had done with Jack.

"Oh come on and let her go Tinga. All the guards are buffoons anyway. Or baboons, whichever." They all laughed as Max snuck quietly down the hall.

"And there was Krit, who was an all around jokester. Vadi would try to be as funny as he was, but her jokes were never as great. Krit would always make fun of our instructors behind their backs and it was hysterical. If we were still in class I had to try _so_ hard not to laugh."

__

Krit turned to look at Jondy and mimed what their instructor would be like if he were being tortured. Jondy quickly smiled and quickly looked away as she snorted and heads turned her way. Zack and Brin glared at her, but Eva smiled and looked toward Krit condescendingly with her eyes as blue as blue could be. Except they weren't too big like Jondy thought hers were.

"Eva was the prettiest of all of us, and she was really smart too. She always like to talk to Brin and Syl, because they were really smart too. They could always figure things out between the three of them in no time.

"Zane was super friendly. He could always make anyone of us feel better with one of his big bear hugs. Jack was Zane's favorite, and Jack loved Zane the most too. Jack wasn't as good at most things, and Zane always cheered him up when he was down about it."

__

Jack lay in his bed moaning. His six year old form had started shaking again, and nobody knew what to make of it. He was the smallest after Jondy, and everyone was scared that he'd shake himself to pieces. Zane crawled across Jack's bed and wrapped the small boy up in his arms, pulling him into sitting positions, and resting Jack's head up against is chest. After several minutes, Jack's shaking started to subside, and Jack started to cry.

"It's okay Jack," said Zane. "You're the strongest of all of us for living through those shakes." A sparkle of hope and happiness glimmered in Jack's eyes.

"Zane was amazing. He could make anyone feel like they belonged. He always made Ben feel less scared when his imagination got away from him and he couldn't sleep.

"Ben had the biggest imagination of anyone I've ever known. He'd tell stories about horrible monsters that lived in the basement, and about the beautiful woman who could save us from them. Personally I think he got carried away with it."

__

Everyone was going up to the roof again, and Max stayed behind with Jondy. Jace was being trained in long term torture resistance that week, and Max didn't want to leave Jondy alone. Jondy felt that actually she would have preferred that she be alone. Ben's little dentistry school always made her feel uncomfortable.

"Why don't you like to go with Ben?" Max wondered aloud.

"Because it's stupid Max! Our teeth will serve us much better in our mouths than being left on the roof for some imaginary lady!"

"I know she's not real," said Max, obvious hurt in her voice. "But somehow it just makes me feel better. Not about the 'nomlies, but about the scientists, and the instructors and all the adults here. Besides, I only leave my teeth that are loose anyway."

"I just don't like it," said Jondy, her voice dispassionate. "Why don't you just go along with the others if you like it up there so much?"

Max flopped onto her bed and rolled over so she faced Jack's cot, and not Jondy's. Jondy covered her head with her pillow, not wanting Max to know that she was about to cry. Why did she want to go up on the stupid roof? Why couldn't her emotions be guided by logic? Gah, her emotions were so stupid!

Aldrea's eyes were drooping. Jondy swept back Aldrea's hair to see her Kiddo's little face. "How come we never see any of them Mommy?" Aldrea murmured.

"It's not safe. I'd like to see them again though. I'd like that more than anything in the whole world. I regret not spending every minute that I could with them when I was little, and I regret not cherishing the time we had. We thought our lives were horrible back then, but I miss them a lot. A whole lot."

"Maybe someday Zack will say that it's safe. Then you can go see Krit and he can make you laugh, and Zane can give you a hug," said Aldrea. Jondy smiled, it was a lovely thought. If only Zack would be that lenient.

"Maybe someday Kiddo. But right now we need to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day for us."

****

TBC…


	6. Runaways

Jondy the Abandoner 4: Streaming Freedom Video

Chapter Six: Runaways

Aldrea's face was plastered to the passenger side window as she and Jondy approached Seattle. "Look at all the buildings," the small girl smiled. "It'll be hard for the bad guys to find us in here for sure!"

"You got that right Kiddo," Jondy agreed, pulling over near the fence surrounding the city's perimeter. "Okay, we've gotta ditch the car out here, all right?"

Seattle loomed at them through the chain link fence. Grey clouds deepened in the chilly air, and Aldrea shivered, wishing that she were wearing her jacket. It was much colder than in San Francisco. "How come?"

"Well, there are a lot of reasons actually," said Jondy, as she started removing the license plates. "This car was probably reported stolen, and the bad guys probably got their hands on that information. They could follow us to right here if they are able to find the car. And also, we can't climb over the fence in a car. I don't have a sector pass into this city, and I don't want to start out in trouble with the cops already."

Aldrea nodded and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm in the grey, chilly air.

"Kiddo, why don't you grab your sweatshirt out of your bag?" Jondy suggested.

"Ok…okay," the small girl shivered, looking much more vulnerable than she usually did. A light mist of rain began to fill the air, and Jondy grinned at her daughter, having removed both license plates, and stuffed them into her duffel.

"All right Kiddo, here's the plan," Jondy started, suddenly all mission like, "put your backpack back on, and I'll take my backpack and both our duffel bags. There should be a guard coming to check this portion of fence within the next ten minutes, so we need to make ourselves long gone as soon as possible." Aldrea nodded, slightly nervous. Her mom didn't even know the last time the fence was checked. The guards could be coming at any moment! "Okay," said Jondy, "you got everything out of the car?"

Aldrea nodded.

"All right then, up you get," Jondy gestured with her head toward the fence. "I'll be right behind you."

"Mom, there's barbed wire at the top."

"Well you aren't naked are you? Don't grab the barbs. Sheesh, let's go!"

Aldrea sighed in worry. She hadn't gotten enough sleep in the car, and it was raining, and there was barbed wire and the guards were going to come to arrest them at any moment! But her mom didn't seem worried at all. Sometimes Aldrea was certain her mother was raving mad.

But Jondy was worried too. She was worried that Aldrea would get her clothes caught on the barbed wire, and that she would fall to the ground on the other side. Aldrea probably didn't have enough cat DNA to allow her to instinctively land on her feet Jondy realized, as Jondy herself had fallen on her behind a couple of times in her life. She was worried that the guards weren't as lazy in Seattle as they were in San Francisco, and they would come around the corner any minute. There were so many things that could go wrong with this plan Jondy didn't want to think about it. But this was the only way that they were going to get into the city where they could be safe and set up new lives. The only way.

So she watched as Aldrea plodded up the fence. She wasn't fast, but she was pretty quick for a little girl wearing a bulky backpack. She moved steadily higher, and Jondy started climbing up behind her, matching her pace with her bulky load sagging, and waving awkwardly at her side. Soon she was right next to her daughter as they reached the top.

Jondy considered tossing the duffels over, but the mud at the bottom stopped her. "Okay Kiddo, careful now. Just find a place where their aren't any barbs, and grab on." Aldrea did as instructed. "Okay, now step up so you're standing on the top of the fence, I've gotcha," Jondy grabbed Aldrea's leg, "and now with your other leg, step over the wire."

"Mom, my sweatshirt's caught!"

"Don't worry, I'll get it in a minute," Jondy switched to holding Aldrea's other leg. "Okay, now step all the way over the wire… steady!" Aldrea was shaking. "Okay, grab onto the chain link with one hand, I'll get you unstuck here." Jondy climbed up and unhooked Aldrea's light pink sweatshirt from the barb it was stuck to, and then started over the wire herself.

"Move on down Aldrea, I think the guards are coming."

Aldrea looked down at the ten feet of climbing she had to do, and then looked up, eyes wide.

"Don't hurry Aldrea, but go. If you go as fast as you did on the other side, we'll be fine."

Unfortunately, Jondy wasn't so sure about this, as she passed the barbed wire with ease. Her enhanced hearing could hear the guard coming. There was just one, and his footsteps were squelching nearer and nearer in the mud.

Jondy rushed down to the bottom, and positioned herself underneath Aldrea. "Okay Kiddo," she said quietly, "jump down and I'll catch you."

"No you won't!" Aldrea wailed in a whisper.

"Aldrea, I'm not kidding around with you. Just jump, I'll catch you, and we'll be outta here before the guard comes!" But Aldrea was wise to her mother's games. She had done this sort of thing with Brian all the time.

"_You've been rearranging," Eloise noted, stepping into Brian's apartment._

_Brian looked around, "have I?" He laughed._

_"Toss that ugly la- I mean that lamp over here. Don't worry, I can catch it. Then I'll just put it on this table," suggested Eloise._

_"Okay, yeah, that would look nice there. You sure you can catch it?"_

_"You've seen me catch things before Brian." So Brian tossed the lamp gently towards Eloise. And she pretended to fumble the lamp, and CRASSSHH!_

Aldrea was not going to let her mom turn this into some test of Aldrea's ability to land on her feet. No way, this was too important. Aldrea would end up stuck in the mud, and then the guards would come and arrest them both.

"No way, I'm not gonna jump!" said Aldrea, and began to climb down as quickly as she could.

Of course, Jondy had every intention of catching Aldrea, but she could sort of see where her daughter was coming from. She looked off nervously in the direction of the approaching sector cop. She could just make out his profile through the misty rainfall. He probably couldn't see her yet, but would be able to by the time Aldrea made it down.

"I'll be right back Aldrea, I have to go take care of the guard," said Jondy. She found a slightly drier patch of Earth to deposit the duffels and took off into the rain.

She ran around in an arc so as to circle around behind the guard. Sneaking catlike she approached the poor man silently. Certainly such an ambush was nothing near a fair fight, but Jondy had no qualms of this whatsoever. She quietly snaked her lithe arms around his head and covered his eyes with soft hands.

"Guess who?" she breathed. She could feel the man's heart pumping wildly as he fumbled for his nightstick, but it was too late.

He was panicked, and she was in control of the situation. Bringing up her knee, she kicked him in the small of his back, making him fall away from her and tumble to the ground.

He spun around in the mud, and started to get up. However Jondy's foot was already back in the air… SMACK! A round kick to the side of the cop's head was enough to knock him out cold. And the poor guy never even got a good look at Jondy.

She grinned and ran back to the section of fence where Aldrea was waiting for her, now firmly on the ground.

"Let's get outta here," Jondy suggested.

"Good idea," Aldrea remarked, and they bolted for cover as the rain started to pick up.

**TBC…**


	7. Happy Birthday!

Jondy the Abandoner four: Streaming Freedom Video

Chapter Seven: Happy Birthday!

March 2, 2020

Zack was coming today, and even Jondy was excited. She lay on an old mattress in the damp basement she now shared with Charlene Andersen, a women she and Aldrea met their first day in the city. Once the rain had subsided a bit, Aldrea had insisted they go to a park. Here the girl had immediately found a friend in seven year old Amy, who, as it turned out was the daughter of Charlene, a kind woman looking for a new roommate.

"Aldrea, come on over here," Jondy shouted. Aldrea was playing on the swings and had been for about an hour, but now Jondy was getting hungry, and she was sure Aldrea was too. It was time to end the excursion to the park.

Gleefully, Aldrea ran over the picnic table where Jondy sat. A girl followed her. "Mom this is Amy, she's my new friend from Seattle," Aldrea explained. Amy was a short girl, about an inch and a half shorter than Aldrea. Amy had a round face and slightly chubby cheeks. She wasn't chubby herself, she just hadn't lost her baby fat yet. A light smattering of freckles covered her nose and cheeks. Her round brown eyes were framed by dark brown bangs, her hair curled all around her face.

"Hi Amy," Jondy said kindly, but her hunger was starting to make her loose patience. "It's nice to meet you. Aldrea, are you getting hungry?"

"Yes I am," Aldrea replied.

"You should meet my mom though!" Amy suggested cheerfully.

"I don't really think-" Jondy started, but the two girls were already halfway across the lumpy lawn of the park.

Jondy rolled over and looked out through the gap in the door of her tiny room. She missed their old apartment. Sure, it wasn't ever very clean, and the couch was a bit moldy, but here everything was a bit moldy. It was a basement of what used to be an office building, and Charlene and Amy were squatters. Now Jondy and Aldrea were too. Charlene needed Jondy's help to pay off the cops, but Jondy didn't have a job yet.

Which was why she was going to be so glad to see Zack. She had been sitting around uselessly in Charlene's basement for four days, and he brought her the promise of a new ID. Eloise Strat was not a name that was going to fly anymore. She had told Charlene that she was Rachel Madison, the alias she had used when she lived in Colorado, and that Manticore never knew about. Zack had her old ID from that time, and he just needed to get it updated for her with his source in Canada.

Aldrea swung open Rachel's door too quickly, causing it to bounce off the sheetrock behind it. "Guess what day it is?" Aldrea beamed.

"Hmm, your first day at you new school?" guessed Rachel.

"Well yah, but-"

"Happy Birthday Kiddo," Rachel smiled, sitting up and pulling Aldrea into her lap. "Big hugs for your first day!" And she kissed Aldrea on her forehead.

"And Zack is going to come, right?"

"That's what he says. Maybe he'll have a present for you too," Rachel smiled bleakly. She had left her present for Aldrea back in California, and she knew for a fact that Brian had the huge unicorn set Aldrea had been pining over for months, hidden in his closet.

"Okay Aldrea, time to go!" Charlene shouted from the kitchen. Charlene was a squat looking woman, a bit on the heavy side, and somehow very severe looking even though she had a caring disposition. She had a head fully of bright orange curls, and light brown eyes.

Aldrea wriggled from her mother's arms. "I'll see you after school Mom!"

"Bye Kiddo."

Charlene walked Amy to school everyday before she went to work across the street, so it only followed that she would walk Aldrea as well. Technically Jondy should have come with on the first day, to meet Aldrea's teacher, but since Zack was coming today, she had to wait.

"Hi Amy," Ms. Herman greeted, as the group entered the cheerful classroom. "Who's this?"

"This is Aldrea Madison," Charlene explained. "She and her mother have just moved here, I brought her because they're our new roommates."

Ms. Herman crouched down to Aldrea's level, "and are you in the first grade like Amy?" she asked.

"No, I'm in second."

Charlene looked at Aldrea scornfully, "Aldrea, now let's not tell lies. It's her sixth birthday today," she explained to Ms. Herman. "She's in Kindergarten."

"No I'm not!" Aldrea protested. "I was in Kindergarten last year! But they put me in first grade after a week! Now I'm in second grade!"

"Okay, well, I'll take you to Mrs. Silver's classroom and we can get everything sorted out. Have a good day Charlene," Ms. Herman called after Charlene, as Charlene waved goodbye. Ms. Herman led Aldrea to another classroom, even more cheerful, and filled with all sorts of colorful toys, but after talking quietly to the other teacher, she had to leave to go back to her own class.

Mrs. Silver was a kindly looking lady in her late fifties. She wore a long, colorful skirt and hiking boots. She had a sweater of deep purple, and round spectacles that covered shining green eyes. Crouching down she held Aldrea by the shoulders, "and you must be little Aldrea," she said. "I've heard that you are very smart. In second grade?"

"I am in second grade. Are you my teacher?"

Ms. Silver smiled. "We'll see. I'm the Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Silver. You can remember my name, because it's the same color as my hair. Right now I'm going to let my friend Mara do some work with you. This way we can see what class to put you in. Does that sound like fun?" Aldrea nodded. She was a bit disappointed; Mrs. Silver seemed like the nicest person she'd met so far in Seattle.

"Can we still be friends after I'm in second grade?" Aldrea asked.

"Well certainly!" said Mrs. Silver. "I teach Kindergarten in the mornings, and I am the school councilor in the afternoon. I will be seeing you again Sweetie."

At this Aldrea smiled and went off with Mara. Mara had a lot of tests for Aldrea, and a lot of questions, but Aldrea knew a lot of them, and it made her feel very smart.

* * *

It was just after two in the afternoon when Zack snuck into the now familiar penthouse. He couldn't hear any clicking coming from the computer room, and he wondered if the person he was looking for was home. He silently snuck through the semi-clear paneling until he stood leaning against the shelves surrounding the nook of technology. The man before him remained concentrated on the monitor. 

Zack coughed.

The man gasped and his shoulders bounced, all the jump that his paraplegic body would allow. Turning his chair around, he asked, "Zack, what are you doing here?"

"Well you know what they say, you-"

"Shouldn't leave your window open if you don't want visitors," the man finished, rather groggily.

"I was going to say you shouldn't leave your door unlocked, but… whatever. Looks like your auto-immune system has caught up with you, eh, Miracle Boy?"

Logan sighed, he'd left his door unlocked? His head was so messed up lately, he was being careless. But then who cared how careless he was anyway? Even Zack ripping on him wasn't bothering him as much as it should. Logan frowned numbly. "What is it that you're doing here Zack?" he asked again, probably more angrily than he should have been, but he didn't care.

"I need you to make a new ID for me, well not for me, but for someone I know."

"This is for one of the others?"

"Her name is Rachel Madison. This is her old ID," Zack handed Logan the old ID, showing a 13 year old Jondy, and labeling her as a 16 year old. "The age is wrong on that, she's 19 or 20 now."

"Well I guessed that," Logan said irritably. "Don't you think you should be telling Max that you're having me do this?"

"If you tell Max, about this, show her the picture, whatever, it is very likely she will run off and neither of us will ever see her again. Rachel is even more reckless than Max is, and together it just goes up exponentially. If you care about Max, you won't tell her."

Logan stared. This was the most he'd ever heard Zack say all at once. Zack was an overprotective brother, and he often came off as an overprotective brother who wanted benefits, but right now, Logan didn't really care. It's not like he was planning on telling Max about this girl, whoever Rachel was. It wasn't like he was planning on telling Max anything ever again.

He scanned the old ID into the computer. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, displacing his glasses. "I'm assuming that you don't have a more recent picture for me to switch in, and I'll have to age this one."

"Actually," Zack dug in his pocket and pulled out a slightly rumpled bit of photograph paper. It was a picture of Jondy, Aldrea and Zack that Brian had taken. The Golden Gate bridge was in the background. "Rachel is the older girl."

Logan stared at Zack. "Thank you," he said, only slightly sarcastic. He scanned the photograph into the computer as well. "So who is the younger girl?"

"Oh, just some kid we were hanging around with. No one really," Zack looked at his watch. "So how long does this sort of thing usually take?"

"Not long once I get all the information in," Logan was converting all the information from the Colorado learner's permit, onto a Washington driver's license. "I've just got to finish making the image, then print it out. You were hanging out with a kid?"

"She was a pretty cool kid. Where'd you get one of those anyway?" Zack wondered out loud, referring to the license machine.

"Why, you want to steal one for yourself so you can make all the fake IDs you'll ever need?"

"No," Zack replied simply. Logan clicked 'print ID' and the machine started to whir and make disturbing noises.

"Its not… the newest machine in the world or anything," Logan explained, and went to typing in another document on his computer.

"I can tell," said Zack, looking at his watch again. He was planning on picking Aldrea up from school at three, and he was going to be late. Logan clicked 'print' on the other document, and the light hum of the printer was added to the noise of the computer area.

At last Logan pulled the new driver's license from the machine, and the papers from the printer tray. "Here is Rachel's ID and her official documentation, so she should be able to apply for a sector pass," said Logan, and looked away from Zack.

"Wow, you're better than my guy in Canada," Zack commented, seeming vaguely impressed.

"Well thanks," said Logan. "Now if you don't mind, I was trying to get some work done." Logan sub-consciously glanced at his drawer, before turning to glare Zack out of the apartment.

* * *

School was out for the day, and Aldrea and Amy were playing on the decrepit asphalt that covered half the school yard. It had basketball hoops missing nets and parts of the backboards, and a few tetherball poles, only one of which still had the ball. Chalk lines outlined places to play four-square and hop-scotch. Aldrea and Amy were playing two-square on one of the four-square sets. 

"No, if it lands in the three, it's still in a square so it still counts," said Amy.

"But this is two square!" Aldrea argued. "That was out."

Zack saw Aldrea playing from afar and smiled. Approaching the two girls he said, "I think the birthday girl's got it right. Besides, it is her birthday," he noted, and pulled out a brightly wrapped gift.

An enormous grin spread across Aldrea's face at the sight of Zack with the large, shiny gift in hot pink and neon green wrapping. It had little balloons on it.

"Zack! You made it!" Aldrea yelled running over to him. He braced himself for the little girl, who's fist hit him in the stomach harder than she'd ever hit him before.

"Hey, you've gotten stronger," Zack beamed. "I got you something, Allie," he held out the gift. Aldrea grabbed it and eagerly ripped off the wrapping. Somehow he grin managed to grow even bigger, when she saw what was inside, and she wrapped her arms around Zack's broad shoulders. Her brand new unicorn doll still clutched tightly in her arm.

"It's just what I wanted Zack! How did you know when you haven't even been around forever?"

"Oh, I had a hunch," said Zack, acting like there had been some great sneaking around to get Aldrea that gift. Actually Zack had seen it and knew it was just girly enough to irritate Jondy. Which usually meant Aldrea would love it.

"Who're you?" asked Amy, a bit indignantly.

"This is my uncle Zack," Aldrea introduced. "And Zack, this is my new friend Amy. I met her at the park, and now we live with her and her mom. And guess what Zack! Guess what!"

"What?"

"They've put me in the third grade at this school! They had me do a bunch of tests and stuff to figure out what grade I was in, and they said I was smart enough to be in third! Isn't that great?"

"That's wonderful Aldrea," said Zack, picking her up. "How about a ride home on my motorcycle?"

"Okay, but how will Amy get home?"

"How does she usually get home?"

"My mom usually comes and walks me," said Amy. "She should be coming any minute."

"Okay, well let's go Aldrea. I'm sure Amy won't mind, seeing as how you're the birthday girl and all."

Aldrea grinned, and Zack shoved his helmet on the small girl's head. She looked quite silly as it was several sizes too big and Amy laughed. "That helmet looks great on you Aldrea!"

Aldrea gave a thumbs up and Zack lifted her onto the bike. "Hang onto that unicorn Allie," he said jumping on, "'cause we're going for a ride!" And they zoomed off into the city streets, Aldrea screaming in glee beneath Zack's black and orange helmet.

A few streets later, Zack suddenly saw a familiar face rushing toward him on another motorcycle. Quickly he turned his face away from the approaching bike, which was speeding quite fast. SHHHHJOOOOOOOOMMMM! And it was past, however that had been a close one. It was going to be a bitch keeping his siblings safe under the current circumstances. He hoped that he could handle it.

* * *

_Rachel Marie Madison. _That's what Jondy's new ID read her name to be. She read it over and over again, as she sat alone up on the roof of the old office building she now lived in. She looked out across the city contemplatively and she could see the Space Needle in the distance. A pillar of what the future was supposed to be. And yet… things weren't so bad. 

Down below, Zack was playing his favorite party game, Hide and Go Seek, with Aldrea and Amy. They were all full of cake, and Jondy… Make that Rachel, could still taste the sugary frosting on her tongue. A taste that eleven years ago she couldn't even have imagined. Now she couldn't even imagine having not tasted it.

So here she was in Seattle, living it up in this broken world as Rachel Marie Madison. A new name, eleven years after her first new name. A smile slowly curled over her lips, and her large eyes grinned out into the shining Seattle night.

Even though she missed Brian, and Aldrea had to start a new school, and her whole life had started over into something different, Rachel felt that something was just over the horizon waiting for her. Somehow… Life was good, she decided as she got up to go back downstairs to join the birthday party.

Zack had started Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and everyone was laughing at Zack's hilarious drawing of a donkey. It wasn't very donkey-like, and the part of the donkey to which one was to attempt to attach the tails, looked very much like the human version of that area. The result was ridiculous and everyone was having a good time.

Rachel took a handful of chips and sat on a lawn chair that was set up in the living area. Yeah, definitely, things were exactly as they should be. For the moment anyway.

**  
THE END.**

Stay tuned, and don't miss the next installment in the Jondy the Abandoner Saga, Jondy the Abandoner five: Dark Angel.


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